Wolves forward Matheus Cunha has claimed he is likely to leave in the summer amid tentative links with a move to Liverpool and Arsenal, among others. He says he only stayed in January to help his side out of the relegation battle.
Cunha has scored 13 goals in 26 appearances for Wolves this season but has been banned for four games for disciplinary issues too. The 25-year-old headbutted Milos Kerkez, who is also thought to be on the Reds’ radar, against Bournemouth when he completely lost his head.
“I had a lot of offers but I wouldn’t feel well if I had done it,” he said. “Some things you can’t control but I couldn’t leave the club in the middle of the season, in a difficult situation, in the relegation zone.”
“Now, we’re close to achieving our goal [of staying up],” Cunha continued, speaking to The Guardian. “But I’ve made it clear that I need to take the next step. I want to fight for titles, for big things. I have potential.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was impressed by Cunha when Wolves gave the Reds a tough time earlier this year. Arne Slot’s men were penned back in the second half of that game, in particular.
“Today showed at times that when we have the ball you can exploit it as well,” he said at Anfield. “Cunha was a danger man for them today we had to be aware of. Unfortunately, he scored but we kept them to that.
“I definitely give them credit for the way they went one-on-one most of the time and how they found the free man between the lines. At times we were sloppy as well and we couldn’t keep the ball as well as we can at times.”
Cunha has been open about his future a couple of times this season. Wolves is desperate to keep him but there will be an acceptance that his level is well above the lower end of the Premier League table.
“I never think about leaving, honestly,” he said on Football Focus in February. “I know I have a lot of things to do already and I always said that this was the club that gave me the chance to come back.
“They opened the door for me and I always felt I wanted to give back everything so to leave in this type of situation is hard. I am so happy to be here. I hope to continue doing good things.”
Liverpool.com says: Cunha is having a great season but he isn’t quite the world-class, nailed-on number nine that would excite Liverpool fans this summer. His red card against Bournemouth would be a concern as well.
Someone like Alexander Isak would be a complete game-changer, even though his price tag would be enormous. But having paid $43 million (£33 million) to sign Cunha from Atletico Madrid, Wolves won’t be letting him go on the cheap.
